Local Sports Journal

When you have a solid baseball tradition and good pitching, you can talk about winning 20 games in a season and capturing a district title.

That’s the talk around the Holton Red Devil baseball program and its coach, Jim Giddings.

“We should have good pitching, and if we don’t beat ourselves, we will be tough to beat,” Giddings said. “We are looking for another 20-win season with eyes set on a district championship.”

Standing in the way of the Red Devils and their quest for a league title is Chippewa Hills and league newcomer Newaygo. Several runnerup finishes in recent years has the Red Devils even more focused on the top spot. Last year, Holton finished 23-8, 13-2 in the league.

In order to make a run at the title, Holton will rely on a handful of returning seniors.

Jeremiah Sergent is the catcher and batted .386 last season, Isaac Mock is a team captain who will pitch and play infield, Jacob Moreen, an outfielder who stole 25 bases last season, Adam Wiegand, a pitcher who was 4-2 last season, Kaleb Maclam, who is an outfielder who batted .350, and Skylar Hartwick.

Another key returnee is sophomore Hayden Cregg, who hit .300, had a 3-0 record on the mound (including a no-hitter) and was second on the team in RBI as the shortstop.

Newcomers include sophomore Aaron Poling along with juniors Brad Epplett, Grant Younts and Jacob Russell. Three other sophomores who will be battling for playing time include Tanner Fowler, Garret Martin and Logan Luttrul.